Ruby Hearts
by Ms.MistyEyes
Summary: And in that one moment Artemis could hear her heartbeat roaring in her her ears, sure she was going to look away soon. But like gravity, the pull was too strong. A little oneshot with a potential of maybe a two or even threeshot if enough people are interested. Wally/Artemis.
1. Ruby Hearts

**A/N: For this just pretend that Failsafe happened a little earlier than October, so like mid-September. Please enjoy! Remember I don't own any of the characters, as much as I wish.**

It was one of the last days that felt like summer. The heat was a wet heat the clung to hair and skin, and made everybody feel like they were permanently sweating. Artemis loved it. Most assumed Artemis loved the winter, for reasons usually unknown, but it was something the Team universally agreed on. Wally said that the winter matched her "winning personality" as he put, and the rest agreed. To Artemis, summer was too reminiscent of the happy parts of her childhood. The few that occurred happened in summer and she'd be damned if she let those got away from her.

Artemis remembered the year before her mom was shot, and Jade just _left_ , there was a day in June where Lawrence was gone, and Paula had let them skip training, and let them all walk down to the pier. They bought vanilla ice cream from a cheap vendor and watched the sun set, and Artemis could remember the smell of the sea, the rough of the wood from the railing on her elbows, the feeling of her ice cream drip through her fingers, and the sound of her mother's laugh as Jade told an amusing story. There weren't too many days like that after that summer.

And so Artemis, instead of sitting inside the cave with the others under a stream of air conditioning, was outside on the sand just thinking. Basking in the suns lowering rays, and reveling in this small moment of peace. The heat crawled under her hair and rested where her ponytail rested on her neck. She watched as the sun began its dip under the water and the gold, orange, and yellow mixed with the blue of the waves and bathed the beach in pinks, purples, and gold. This was Artemis' favorite part. The last few minutes of blissful heat and sunshine before the moon unwound itself and blanketed the city in darkness. That was one thing Artemis hated about Gotham, the sunsets were never as pretty.

"Never thought you were a sunsets person."

Even though Artemis didn't hear him, which was unusual, he didn't surprise her. She had grown comfortable enough with his presence that rarely anything Wally did startled her. She was surprised, however, that he didn't have a humor filled remark for her.

"Nah, I just like to see all the light be extinguished from the earth," she says turning her head and looking up at him, with a little smirk on her face.

He grins, and settles down next to her, typically not asking if she wanted him there and turns his gaze toward the water, and wraps his arms around his knees. "Figures. I knew you were, like, allergic to happiness, and just wanted to feel the world drained." The remark isn't biting, but Wally says it with such a big smile, that it could almost be taken as a compliment. If Artemis didn't know him that is. She can't help, though, but to admire him when the light hits his hair and the color actually flatters him (a little) and his green eyes light up till they are almost precious stones. Artemis turns away quickly. He'd never let her hear the and of it if he caught her staring.

"It was my devious plan all along. To watch everything go dark and then make my escape. Maybe find some bad guys to play with." She lays down and closes her eyes, not interested in the usual banter she and Wally usually engage in. It's just too pretty.

They both sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, a rather unusual feat for the both of them, until Wally breaks the silence, "Are you afraid to die? Like, maybe not the dying part, but what comes after?"

Artemis, without opening her eyes says, "I'd die right now if it meant never hearing you talk again."

Wally rolls his eyes, "Ha ha goddess of congeniality. I'm serious."

Artemis opens one eye, "What brought this on? I didn't know you battled with existentialism."

"I was just thinking about Kent, and the, um, the… uh, training exercise, and I just realized I wasn't ready to die. And I asked first!"

Artemis pulls herself back up into a sitting position and sighs, "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of leaving people behind. Like my mom, the team, GA, and Jade even. I'm afraid of not being able to tell them one last time how much they mean to me. Wait, why am I telling you this?" Artemis says as she turns to face Wally again, this time with a raised eyebrow.

He gives a small smile, "It's just that my charm is _dripping_ off of me and you got covered in it." He smooths his hair, and starts drawing swirls in the sand.

Artemis rolls her eyes so hard it hurts, and then pushes him over, and Wally gives a yell of "HEY!" as he smashes the sand around.

"Not fair Arty! I thought we were having a moment!" He says with mock horror and hurt displayed across his face.

Artemis snorts, "Yeah until you started to boast about you nonexistent charm."

Wally places a hand on his chest and feigns shock, "My own friend turned against me! The horror I say! The HORROR!" Artemis stares at the dramatic boy in the sand in disbelief. How could he be asking about death one minute, and the next he's writing around in the sand whining about how she "betrayed" him.

She pokes him, "You never answered your end of you question." Artemis says, not used to this happy Wally, who for the first time ever called her… friend. Sure she and him had been friendlier since the exercise, neither of the two had openly admitted to the other that they were something as simple as friends. Artemis became painfully aware of her own heartbeat.

"Nah its dark out and I'm hungry. I think Miss M has some leftover spaghetti in the fridge and I know there's pudding cups. Wanna get some?' Wally says perking up when he starts talking about food. He pushes himself up and offers a hand to Artemis. "I just know you love pudding cups."

Artemis sighs and grabs his hand (out of courtesy of course) "Damn. Those pudding cups tempt me so." She grumbles as she stands up. For a moment, his and hers eyes meet, emerald with silver, and the moonlight surrounds, and cradles the two in eerie silence. Neither can hear the waves. Artemis can hear her heart in her ears, and its beating loud and fast in ways she's never experienced and it scares her. Just as it was there, the moment is gone, and Artemis pulls her hand out of Wally's grasp like he had burned her, the loudness of her heartbeat still echoing in her head. She misses the flash of hurt in his eyes.

"Yeah its probably why you are bad at math. The sugar is eating away at your brain cells." He quips, because know they are Wally and Artemis again, and Wally will never let her a moments peace.

"You're one to talk Kid Bottomless Pit. I'm surprised they even let you out of the fourth grade."

"Haha funny Arty, but last one to the kitchen doesn't get any pudding." Wally says with a grin and takes off at lightening speed.

"Damn it!" yells Artemis and she starts running after him.

—

Later, Artemis lies awake in her bed at the cave, still a little bloated from all of the pudding. She had to wrestle some away from Wally, but she got them in the end. She had a sneaking suspicion he didn't fight back very hard, and Artemis didn't know how to feel about this newer, kinder Wally. Maybe those therapy sessions with Black Canary had helped. She turns over and buries her head in the pillow. She hates being afraid.

On the beach, Artemis had lied to Wally, (again, her mind likes to remind her) her biggest fear before dying, was taking all her lies to the grave with her. Her heart always pumped a little faster when she thought about that secret. Adrenaline would course through her and dread would settle in her stomach. Artemis keeps tossing and turning between that, and the little moment at the end of their conversation. Wally had looked at her in a way that she'd never seen him look at anything before. It scared her, because she's pretty sure she looked at him in the same way.

Artemis throws off her blankets and sits up and grabs her glass of water on her bedside table. "Damn freckles." She mutters and takes a big gulp of the water. Try as she might, Artemis Crock barely went to sleep that night. What she though was fear keeping her awake, was something much different and much more potent. But all Artemis would remember was that a certain red-headed speedsters green eyes was keeping her up.

And, little did Artemis know, a few doors down, that certain speedster was awake an imagining if Artemis was awake too. Two ruby hearts alike in their pulses and beats, synchronized for the first time on that beach. And the bodies and minds those hearts belonged too, connected fully for the first time. And you can be sure it wouldn't be the last.

 **A/N: What did ya think? Could be a twoshot if you like it enough and maybe some more plot could be revealed. If not, its just a little pre-love fluffy Spitfire!**


	2. Ruby Minds

**A/N: Since I got such a positive response with the first part I decided to keep going! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and said they liked it. You're the real heroes! Hope you enjoy! P.s I'm forewarning you the language might be a bit rougher.**

Ruby Minds

Artemis, for whatever reason could not stop thinking about that night on the beach. From a scientific point of view there was no reason why when she looked at Wally she felt this warm tingly feeling spread through her. So, she tried to look at Wally as little as possible. Because the truth was Artemis was bad at handling and dealing with her complex emotions. Specifically of the Wally-related nature. She's had little shocks before. Of what, she's not sure, but whenever Wally did something that was unusually not-Wally, she would feel al gooey inside.

And this was the part where Artemis hated herself, because whenever she felt like she could open up to someone, her mind starts waving red flags and sirens go off. In retrospect Artemis figures its a coping mechanism, an old survival tactic from who she used to be. And because Artemis is constantly worried about someone getting too close, she is ready to run away to preserve herself. And that's the part that pisses Artemis off the most because its so _fucking cowardly_.

But Artemis knows she can't change that about herself. Or maybe she doesn't want to, which is the far more terrifying option.

So, Artemis pushes Wally away. Because he got to close. And the inside, scared, very human part of Artemis is screaming at her for denying herself this opportunity, this _idea_ that one day she could be happy. But the tired, abused, angry part of Artemis wins, because she's so used to letting that side of her get what it wants.

She stops staying at the cave as much as she used to. Even if debriefings are at two in the morning Artemis stubbornly Zetas home, making excuses to M'gann that her mom needs her help in the morning or she has to catch up on chores. And because M'gann is M'gann she smiles through the hurt and says of course and always says next time. Even if they both know Artemis will refuse.

Eventually Artemis starts to hate Wally, and herself a little bit more. And maybe its not actually Wally this time, but what he represents. Safety, friendship, and a little flicker of love. All things Artemis has been denied before. And she hates herself for becoming distant because this team has only offered friendship and safety and Artemis just can't handle it.

So, she evades and excuses herself, knowing that something's bound to happen, but she will be damned if she doesn't try to hold it off.

—

"We need to talk about this." Wally stated very clearly.

Artemis looked up from her physics textbook, "Talk about what?"

Wally looked at her incredulously, "What do you mean what? That little moment we had on the beach! It was an intense bonding moment!" He says and throws his hands up in the air. Artemis is studying at the island in the kitchen, and she mentally curses herself for deciding to sit here. Of course the Bottomless Pit would stumble upon her here. She further curses herself for forgetting her key in her house, and her mom was at some Vietnamese book club (something about her mom trying to keep busy and make friends) so her mom wouldn't be at home until late. And Artemis isn't going to force her mom to come all the way home just to unlock a door, when the cave is perfectly good. Of course Artemis checked through the whole cave before she sat down to do her homework. Robin, the second largest threat to her quiet, seemed to be in Gotham with the Batman, she already knew that Kaldur was in Atlantis for the week, on some business with Aquaman. M'gann was going to her first human sleepover with some girls from the cheer squad. Artemis smiled sadly after M'gann called her almost bursting with excitement. And after M'gann hung up to go pick out nail polish, Artemis let a few tears leak out because damn, as much as she put on a front, M'gann was so important. She was the sister that Artemis had always wanted, and Artemis was screwing everything up.

That left Conner and Kid Mouth. Conner didn't worry Artemis. He'd probably grunt about school or M'gann then back away, so Artemis hadn't bothered looking for him.

Which ended up being her downfall because Wally had been with him. And Artemis was minding her own business and didn't notice he was there until he asked that question. Artemis didn't jump, but silently cursed herself for not hearing him. She was entirely too comfortable with his presence.

"Oh that." She answers writing down some formulas, "What is there to talk about?"

"Hah funny," Wally grumbles as he strides to the snack cabinet and pulls out a pack of Double Stuf Oreos with WALLY'S! IF YOU TOUCH YOU LOSE A HAND sharpied all over the package.

Artemis smiles inside but stuffs down the glowy flicker that started in her heart, "I wasn't trying to be." She goes back to her physics problem, trying to calculate velocity.

He opens the Oreos and jams three in his mouth and stands across from her setting the box down on the island chewing loudly with some degree of frustration. He just glowers at her while he chews, and Artemis grows uncomfortable as the crunch of the Oreos just doesn't seem to end.

She looks up with her eyebrows furrowed, "Are you mad at me or something."

Wally almost chokes, and Artemis snickers. He clears his throat, "Its not funny," he scowls when Artemis claps her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. "And I wouldn't say mad more just confused and frustrated." he continues.

Artemis doesn't say anything.

Wally sighs and closes his Oreos, that, Artemis notes, he almost finished. "I just thought that we were making strides and y'know being, well, _us_ , I thought it was really good. Because the truth is I don't hate you Artemis, even if it seems like it and I just wanted you to know that without having to tell you. And wow I should've rehearsed this it sounds terrible." He says sheepishly.

And if Artemis was smart she would say something comforting and maybe add in some classic banter to try and keep things quiet and kind. And damn if she doesn't want to and then stand up and hug him and say thank you for trying to get her to open up, for trying to break her fucking shell and find her underneath all her safeguards.

But the problem is, Artemis is scared, which leads to stupidity and bad decisions. So, instead of saying all that she wants to, she says, "Okay."

And the hopeful look on Wally's face falls. He tried so hard and he didn't know what else to do. And that pain turns into anger because he's still Wally, "What do you mean okay Artemis?" His voice starts rising, "What is wrong with you? I'm trying here the least you could do is help me out."

The little, sensitive part of Artemis backs away, and the older, hardened cold fury steps up to the plate. Artemis' eyes start blazing and she pushes her arms up and rises from her chair, "What do you want me to say Wally? That everything is going to be different now? That magically everything is going to be so fucking wonderful we'll all turn into goddamned fairies?!" Artemis' voice starts to rise to at a lightly more alarming rate then Wally's.

Wally throws his hands in the air, "Maybe! Maybe I was stupid and thought I could fucking bare my soul to you and you would actually respond. That you would know that I didn't hate you." He yells, every word laced with anger, running his hand through his flaming hair.

"What if I didn't care that you hated me! What if I didn't care if we ever became friends, let alone _liked_ each other. Because you are too goddamn full of yourself, and took fucking selfish to care about anything else, I didn't want to get to know you" Artemis spits. "And I still don't!"

And then she soon regrets it. Wally's face gets as red as his hair and Artemis knows that he is either going to leave or yell, and she isn't sure which one is worse.

Wally starts full on screaming, "I'M THE SELFISH ONE? YOU ARE FUCKING FUNNY AREN'T YOU?" He breathes and his voice is quiet and dangerous, "I'm tired of your bullshit insecurity and superiority complex Artemis. Fuck you for playing with my feelings then. Fuck you for making me believe that you could be a nice person. That we could be friends. Fuck you for being the selfish one." And he turns on his heel, and speeds out.

And Artemis is left with an almost empty Oreo box, half done physics problems and an empty heart. She's not sure how the fix this one. And she feels something unusual.

Tears are pricking her eyes.

When Conner walks into the kitchen after hearing Wally and Artemis leave. He didn't eavesdrop because he didn't want to invade privacy. He sees a physics book and notebook on the island and Wally's snack cabinet is open. All of Wally's back up Oreos are gone. He sighs and hopes that they haven't dug a hole deep enough they can't get out. He wishes Kaldur were here to talk sense into them.

He turns on the TV and puts on static.

—

Artemis waits until she gets home to cry. She forgot her homework at the cave, but she'll swing by in the early morning to grab it and finish it in a study hall. She waits until she's in her room, with a blanket stuffed in the crack of her door, and her mom to be asleep before she starts crying.

And Artemis hates herself. She didn't know why she had to say those things to Wally. He was right. He was trying so hard to be friendly and she was too selfish to give up part of herself. He was right, which makes it all the more frustrating. And usually she didn't agree with Wally this much and that was another thing Artemis was concerned about. Because _fuck_ why was she like this?

She lays awake again like she did, all those days ago from that night on the beach, and still the boy with red hair and freckles haunts her mind.

—

She does eat his Oreos though. All the rest of the ones he opened today. The last few boxes she puts under her bed, out of spite.

A/N: Threeshot? Again if I get enough asks we'll see and I'll (hopefully) post next weekend!

Thank you for reading!


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